Sri Lanka was one of those trips that started as a holiday and somehow became part of my personality.
I went expecting temples, beaches, elephants and probably a decent curry. I came home with an unhealthy attachment to tuk-tuks, several stories that sound made up, an obsession with Sri Lankan wildlife and the firm belief that every journey should contain at least one moment where you wonder what on earth is happening.
This isn’t a polished “10 things to do in Sri Lanka” guide written by someone who spent three sponsored nights in a five-star hotel.
It’s the whole trip as I experienced it — the brilliant bits, the ridiculous bits, the wildlife, the long drives, the temples, the safaris and the increasingly chaotic transport.
And because I originally wrote the trip as a diary, there’s a lot of it.
So here is Sri Lanka, unpacked.
🇱🇰 The route
The trip took us through a huge chunk of Sri Lanka rather than staying in one resort.
There were cities, ancient sites, national parks, lakes, temples, countryside and enough time on the road to see plenty of the country between the obvious tourist stops.
And that turned out to be one of my favourite things about it.
Sri Lanka isn’t somewhere where the interesting bit only starts when you arrive at the attraction. Sometimes an elephant is simply standing beside the road. Sometimes the journey home involves what can only reasonably be described as a party tuk-tuk.
The travelling between places became part of the trip.
🐘 The wildlife
If there was one thing I was most excited about before Sri Lanka, it was the wildlife.
And Sri Lanka delivered.
We did more than one safari. They weren’t all equally successful — on one we barely saw anything and the leopard was so far away that binoculars or an enormous zoom lens were basically compulsory — but even the quieter safari produced elephants and wildlife encounters I’d never have at home.
The first safari was much more memorable.
There is something very different about seeing elephants, monkeys and other animals in Sri Lanka rather than behind a barrier in a zoo.
Then there are the completely unexpected encounters outside the national parks.
Because apparently in Sri Lanka you can simply be driving along and… elephant.
Read the safari diary:
→ Living the wildlife
🛺 The party tuk-tuk
There are normal tuk-tuks.
And then there was this one.
The return journey from one of our outings involved a tuk-tuk fitted with a full speaker system, music blasting and what I can only describe as Sri Lankan boy-racer energy.
It remains one of the maddest journeys I’ve ever taken.
I tipped the driver and told him to buy some more songs.
Quite how this became transport rather than an attraction in its own right, I have no idea.
🏛 Ancient Sri Lanka
One of the things I hadn’t appreciated before going was just how much history there is packed into Sri Lanka.
Polonnaruwa and the ancient sites were completely different from the wildlife side of the trip, and that contrast is part of what makes the country so good.
You can spend the morning looking at elephants and the afternoon surrounded by giant Buddhas and centuries of history.
And then, naturally, encounter another elephant at the side of the road on the way there.
🌴 The bits between the big sights
Some of my favourite memories weren’t necessarily the things you’d put at the top of a Sri Lanka itinerary.
Walking around the lake behind the hotel.
Seeing cows everywhere.
Watching ordinary life from the car.
Random roadside wildlife.
The completely unpredictable journeys.
Those are the things that make Sri Lanka feel less like a collection of attractions and more like a proper adventure.
🧳 Would I go back?
Without hesitation.
Sri Lanka is one of those rare places that manages to give you wildlife, history, scenery, culture, ridiculous stories and proper adventure in the same trip.
It also felt varied enough that going back wouldn’t simply mean repeating the same holiday.
I’d happily do another safari, explore parts of the country I missed and — obviously — keep an eye out for another party tuk-tuk.
🧳 UNPACKED
Best bit: The wildlife and the sheer unpredictability of the whole trip.
Most ridiculous bit: The party tuk-tuk. There is no competition.
Biggest surprise: How much I enjoyed the journeys between places rather than just the destinations themselves.
Would I go again? Absolutely.
Who would I recommend Sri Lanka to? Anyone who wants more than a fly-and-flop holiday and likes a trip where wildlife, history and mild chaos can all occur before lunch.
📦 PACK HERE
Want the whole Sri Lanka story rather than the highlights? I originally wrote the trip as it happened, so you can follow the entire adventure from beginning to end.
Well well welcome
Last leg
First impressions
Leaving Colombo
Living the wildlife
Not a good morning for fatty
Don’t assume anything
Poppin’ Kandy
I’ll take you to the Kandy shop
The road to Ella
Got any leeches for this?
Yala crazy
To the lake, I did go
Who said crocs weren’t fashionable?
Elephantastic
Rained off
King of the high seas
Life’s a beach
Three day, mutant, injured turtles
I believe the sun has set on our day in the sun
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